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Articles
are categorized by topics:
Customer
Service
Where
It All Begins
The
Secret Of Success
Perpetuating
World-Class Customer Service
Delivering
Superior Customer Service
The
Customer is King...or there is NO Kingdom
Communication
3C's
+ 3M's = Effective Communication
Entrepreneurial
Business
Entrepreneurs
and Eagles
Ten
Fundamental Questions Every Successful
Business
Must Answer
Go
With the Pros
Can
Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
America…Our
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Be
A Solutionist
Marketing
Developing
an Effective Game Plan
The
4 P's of Successful Showcasing
Sales
Selling
is a Slam
Dunk…with
the Right Attitude!
Fill
The Pipeline…24/7/365
Customer
Service
Where
It All Begins by Coach Bud
Someone
once said, "The customer is not always right
but, they are your boss". Understanding this
reality of customer service and establishing
it as a fundamental principle of operating your
business will insure a success that many businesses
never achieve. Simple concept, right? If it's
so simple why don't more businesses deliver
superior customer service? Why don't we as customers
have the choice of doing business with the company
who delivers the better superior service
rather than a choice of who's the least mediocre.
Delivering
Superior Customer Service is the focus of this
TBJ series of four articles and the March edition
of our television show, Building Your Business,
on Raleigh CTV-10. Since this is a business
journal, our focus will be on business to business
customer service, not the service we all experience
in the retail marketplace. That's a whole different
ballgame. We will examine how, in our highly
competitive business environment where purchasers
tend to view your product or service as a "commodity",
your product or service can be differentiated
from competitors.
When
your product or service is viewed as only a
commodity, the customer often uses price
as a major factor in their purchasing decision.
However, in a study of 10,000 people (Source:
The Customer Driven Company) across the
country who were asked what they expected from
the companies with whom they did business, price
was not a factor... when their most important
criteria were met. This research study indicated
those customers placed most value on: reliability
that you can deliver what you promise; assurance
that your employees convey trust and
confidence; physical appearance of your
facility and employees (neatness does count);
empathy, that you care and understand their
needs; responsiveness, the willingness
to help them and be prompt about it. WOW! And
you thought they just wanted the lowest price.
Now, let's not kid ourselves into thinking that
price is never an issue. The point is the emphasis
on price decreases significantly when we demonstrate,
by our actions, that we meet their criteria
listed above.
Delivering
Superior Customer Service is exceeding
their expectations. As in any lasting relationship,
you must earn the trust of your customers
with integrity and instill confidence in them
that you possess the competency to deliver successful
solutions. Let's explore further what it takes
to deliver superior customer service.
It
All Begins Internally
How customers perceive (remember perception
is reality) your company is determined through
their interaction with front-line employees.
This customer service culture within an organization
is established by the actions,
not the words, of top management, and trickles
down through the organization finally manifesting
itself in the interaction between your employee
and the customer. Top management establishes
the value placed on that customer. "Whoa, you
ask, if the customer's perception of my company
is determined by the interaction with front-line
employees, how does top management, who rarely
has any direct contact with the customer, insure
that superior customer service is being delivered
by those front-line employees?" Bingo, you got
it! Top management must recognize every employee
for who they are...their best customer.
When management demonstrates, through consistent
actions, deeds, rewards and recognition, a sincere
appreciation for the value of each employee's
contribution to the company's success, superior
customer service is a slam dunk.
Behavioral
scientists tell us that behavior rewarded will
continue to repeat itself. Bottom line...the
manner in which employees treat customers is
in direct proportion to the way they are treated."OK,
you say, in a perfect world this may work, but
this sounds like a fairy tale." Speaking of
fairy tales, ever wonder why Disney World has
over 60,000 applications each year to work in
their theme park? Why is Southwest Airlines
the most profitable airlines flying today? Fairy
tale? We don't think so. It results from an
established culture of superior customer service.
But, before you panic, realize that you don't
have to be big like Disney World or Southwest
Airlines to deliver superior customer service.
As a matter of fact, it's easier to establish
a culture of superior customer service in a
smaller company.
What
Walt Disney and Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest
both understood is that how we "feel" about
our experience with a company determines our
repeat business. We buy with emotion...not logic.
Someone once said, "It's not what you say to
a person, it's how you make him or her feel
that's important."
Ask
yourself why you drive the car you drive, wear
the clothes you wear, live in the neighborhood
you live in? Are these choices made with pure
logic? Probably not. The point here is not to
judge the right or wrongness of your purchase
decisions, but rather to support our claim that
we make decisions more often based on how we
"feel" about the product, service, salesperson
or company. So, to deliver superior customer
service, you must positively affect the way
customers feel about your employees, company,
product or service. That feeling is initially
established and nurtured by management's attitude
toward employees.
How
do you do it?
You
begin by creating a mindset in all levels of
management that the customer is top priority.
Your focus is solely on the customer's needs
and exceeding their expectations. Keep in mind
that your employees are your best customers.
Your goal is to establish a habit of delivering
superior customer service to every employee
in the company and create what Ken Blanchard
calls, Raving Fans.When you create
Raving Fans, internally or externally, these
fans become your best source for obtaining new
customers. When employees are "happy campers"
it is amazing how easy it is to deliver superior
customer service and how easy it is to attract
a more professional employee. Just ask any successful
customer service driven company.
"Okay,
you say, you have convinced me that if my company
delivers superior customer service we can achieve
a higher level of success and have a lot more
fun (now there's a concept) doing it." " So
what do I do?" 1.Start at the top. Top management
must genuinely believe that exceeding the customer's
expectations is the company's number one priority
(remember who your best customer is).
2.The
actions and words of top management determines
the level of trust and confidence employees
have in them. That trust and confidence will
be conveyed directly to the external customers.
(be sure those words are positive and consistent)
3.
Through constant evaluation and customer feedback,
management continues to reinforce and train
employees on the priceless value of customers.
Before you know it, delivering superior customer
service is the culture of your company and your
journey of success will begin taking
giant steps.
Now
that you know the steps, you can begin to establish
or refine your company culture necessary to
deliver superior customer service. Next week,
we will explore how you retain and obtain loyal
external customers and transform them into Raving
Fans.
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